Soccer World Off The Pitch – Caitlin Moss (Souths)

Thanks to Soccer World with stores in Brisbane’s north at Stafford and south at Mt Gravatt we catch up with a rising star in the ranks who is enjoying her football at her new club and from this article, we’re sure you’ll come away with just how dedicated she is both on and off the park. Get excited for Souths United’s Caitlin Moss.

QSN: How were you introduced to the game and who was your main football influence?

CM: I was introduced to football through my big brother at around age four. I wanted to be like him so I would copy him all the time which included playing soccer with him or going to his training sessions every week. He was an amazing player and continuously watching and playing with him made me fall in love with the sport.

QSN: Tell us about your football playing history.

CM: I started playing in a team at age five for a local soccer team in Lismore. I changed clubs the year after for another local club and stayed there until I was eleven. I then went onto play for Football Far North Coast (NSW) where we were a part of the Queensland competition. I played for Football Far North Coast for three years which was a great experience but unfortunately the age group of 14-year girls was cancelled.

Through playing in the Queensland comp I got asked to trial for Palm Beach’s National Premier League team where Gary French was the coach for my under 15’s team. After my first year at age 15, Gary decided to pull me up into the Open team where I stayed for two years. I’ve now changed clubs this year and am playing for the Souths.

QSN: What opportunities has football given you?

CM: Football has given me many opportunities both big and small including meeting and playing against my childhood idols to travelling around Australia and overseas.

I have been lucky enough to have been able to represent my school and my region through Far North Coast and Northern NSW soccer teams which have allowed me to meet new people and travel all around NSW and QLD. I was also given the opportunity to see the football life in America in 2014 when I went on a tour for two weeks playing and visiting football colleges.

QSN: How are you enjoying playing at Souths United?

CM: Playing at Souths United this year has been amazing, It is such a great and loving club. I am so happy I moved to Souths. I don’t think I’ve ever been treated so well and kindly at a club before.

Being a part of this club and playing for them is definitely worth the two and a half hour drive from my hometown Lismore every week. The new fields, staff and my teammates are all so great and I’m glad I’m a part of it all.

QSN: What are your greatest individual and team moments in football?

CM: One of the individual greatest moments would be in 2014 when I scored the winning goal for my school team in the state championships. As a team, the greatest moments would have to be all the Grand Finals I have been a part of and especially the ones we have won such as the 2014 School State Championships in Sydney.

QSN: How does your current coach Gary French compare to your previous coaches?

CM: Gary is a very different coach to my past ones. He has opened many opportunities for me as player. He coached me when I first came up to Queensland and from there he has helped and strengthened me as a player.

He had belief in me as a player unlike my previous coaches and when I was a little blonde 15 year old from Lismore he put me into the open women’s comp with him.

Gary also gave me the opportunity to travel to America in 2014 for the football tour which was amazing. He makes training sessions fun and loves to be apart of the training games we play to try and prove to us girls he still has soccer skills.

QSN: Who is the best player you have played with or against in your career?

CM: The best player I have played with would have to be Nyomi Devine. She was a part of my Palm Beach Women’s team for two years. She now lives in America where she has been playing football on a scholarship for Murray State University for the past two years.

Not only was she an amazing player skillfully, she was also one of those players who you loved to train and play with. She was so supportive and positive on and off the field and forever giving me tips and helping me improve. She taught me so much and I loved playing with her.

QSN: Do you have any pre-game rituals or superstitions?

CM: I do. It’s a bit weird but before every game I have to tie my shoe laces of my boots three times. I tie them before the warm up, after the warm up and just before we walk out onto the pitch.

QSN: What are you and your team looking to achieve this season?

CM: I believe our team goal is to get into the Grand Final and be at the top of the ladder. Our team and coach Gary French are all very competitive and determined to be the best team we can possibly be. So far I think we are growing and becoming stronger as a team and we have a very good chance to get at the top of the ladder and hopefully reach the grand final.

QSN: What do you do with yourself away from the football pitch?

CM: Off the pitch and away from Brisbane, I am still going through Year 12 at Trinity Catholic College Lismore and finishing a TAFE Course of Nursing. I work two jobs, one as a barista at the local Coffee Club and also as an assistant in nursing at a nursing home.

QSN: If you weren’t a footballer, what other sport would you play?

CM: To be honest I have no idea what sport I would play. As a kid, I played a lot of different sports. I was a competitive swimmer and competed in martial arts. I played softball, tennis and touch football. I guess if I didn’t play soccer I would be playing any of these sports just for fun or joining my friends netball teams.

QSN: Time for 5 rapid fire questions. Your favourite drink, music, food, football idol and which football club do you support?